Survival of the Smartest Adaptation
in the Conceptual Age

Something new is happening to business…

You can’t just slap a slick image on a product and expect it to sell anymore.

Consumers are getting more sophisticated. The marketplace is getting more crowded. What used to work in advertising simply doesn’t work anymore.

The rules have changed. And your company must adapt to attract customers.

Information Overload
Overwhelming the Customer

The fact is we are being bombarded everyday with too much information.

Everyone is competing for your customers’ attention. Promotional messages are everywhere – television, radio, email, magazines, billboards, postcards, letters, door-to-door salesmen, telemarketers, in public restrooms, at Tupperware parties, guys waving signs outside pizza parlors – it’s overwhelming.

With all of these extra messages being thrown in our faces, you would think the average person would be buying more and more.

But the exact opposite is happening…

Advertising spending is going up while results are going down.

But why?

Advertisers promise us: whiter teeth, cleaner clothes, better sex, clearer skin, more friends, faster food, impeccable service, and a smoother ride.

Doesn’t everyone want that?

Sure everyone wants that…but it’s getting harder and harder to convince your customers that your products can actually deliver the benefits they promote.

It used to be that all you had to do was throw a bunch of money at an ad agency to produce flashy ads and launch an advertising campaign and you’d generate sales…this is the old model developed in the 1950’s. What worked in the ‘50’s isn’t working any more.

Customers are getting more and more skeptical…and can you blame them? Most marketing is just a bunch of highly publicized white lies.

Why 99% of Marketing is Ignored
Customers’ Assumptions That Can Hurt You

Al Rise, branding and marketing expert, writes that customers are simply turning off their “receptors” – they cannot pay attention to all of the promotional messages being constantly directed at them. It’s too much information. So as advertising expenditures go up, customers’ attention spans go down.

Customers have already put up a wall of resistance before they even learn about your company. Why??? Well, because……

the “New Customer” has three major assumptions that can hurt you:

1. Don’t Trust Ads/Salespeople/Companies: Advertisers stretch the truth and therefore cannot be trusted.

2. Loyalty Is Gone: Small companies are being wiped out by large chains and franchises…most customers will buy a toaster from Wal-Mart if there is no perceived value added by buying it from a “ma and pa shop” at $10 more.

3. Most Companies Don’t Offer What I Want: Custom shoes, custom cars, custom financial plans…”custom” is in…it’s not just in – it’s expected – and the more a customer feels you have the solution to her specific need, the more likely you are to make a sale…if your audience or offerings are too broad, the consumer automatically assumes your business doesn’t apply to her.

BEFORE you even meet a customer, you have already made a bad first impression because of the above assumptions.